Hyundai I30 Problems

The Trophy version of the i30 used exclusively the two-litre petrol engine. As such, it actually has both a timing belt and a timing chain. The engine has twin overhead camshafts, but only the exhaust camshaft is driven by the timing belt from the crankshaft. A short timing chain then takes drive from the exhaust camshaft to the intake camshaft. The engine also features variable valve timing.

The good news is that you really only have to periodically replace the timing belt (the chain should be maintenance-free for the life of the engine). The recommended replacement interval is every 100,000km.

A Golf with that mileage after just three or four years on the road is a bit of an anomaly. How has the car been used? Was it a delivery vehicle in a previous life? I’d be asking some tough questions and diving deep into the vehicle’s service history to find out how it’s been driven and serviced before taking the plunge, because that mileage is about double what I’d expect from this make and model.

The biggest potential reliability glitch with this car is the DSG transmission. While VW claimed that all the evils were fixed by the time the Golf 7 came out in 2013, experience suggests that there are still some examples of this gearbox giving trouble. Symptoms include a loss of drive, poor shift quality, shuddering on take-off and a gearbox that seemingly loses the plot on occasions.

And I’m afraid your alternative rings a few alarm bells as well. The Hyundai also uses a double-clutch style transmission and while it hasn’t suffered the litany of problems that the VW unit has caused over the years, it’s still a bit of an unknown quantity. Certainly, some customers seem to be unhappy with the unit in terms of its longevity and replacement clutch packs are not unknown.

Also, you seem to have a knack for finding cars with double the expected kilometres on board. I’d expect a 2018 i30 to be showing closer to 25,000km than the 50,000km on the one you’re considering. Cars with higher than expected mileage can be bargains, but you’ve really got to dig into their past to ensure they haven’t been abused or suffered from poor servicing.

It’s tempting to draw the same conclusion as you have, Peter, but it may not be that simple. The fact is, there are numerous reasons a car will throw up a warning light on the dashboard and, in the case of the electrical power-steering in your car that certainly holds true.

Also, Hyundai was very clear that the recall for the faulty power-steering only concerned those vehicles built between November 1 2009 and April 30 2010. Your car was built after that date, so it shouldn’t be susceptible to the same problem. However, there is often confusion about build dates, so another way to check whether your car was one of the affected ones is to see if its VIN falls within the list of affected VINs according to Hyundai.

For your references, the affected cars all had VINs between: KMHDC81TMAU064300 and KMHDC51TMAU267226.

If your car isn’t within those numbers, then the likely cause is something different and a decent workshop should be able to scan the car and discover what is causing the warning light. It could be something really simple.

$27,790 would be a good price. I wouldn’t pay any extra for the accessories you quote, I would want the dealer to include them. The protection packs are a dealer thing, so shop around to see what best suits you.

Unfortunately, you’re unlikely to get a manufacturer to pay for repairs on a car that is well and truly out of warranty (as a 2013 Hyundai, which came with a five-year warranty, is). The difference would be if the faulty radio was a pre-existing condition that Hyundai had been notified of before the warranty ran out.

It’s very unlikely that a car-maker would issue a recall for something like a faulty radio, as recalls are generally caused by safety-related problems and faults. But manufacturers do issue TSBs (Technical Service Bulletins) for non-safety problems.

I have heard of Hyundai radio units giving trouble, usually starting with a lack of volume and working their way up to no sound and then no power at all. The good news is that the trade knows about it and there are specialists who have a dedicated fix for these units. In the meantime, it would certainly be worth asking your Hyundai dealer if they’ll fix or replace the head-unit. For instance, since you’re obviously a Hyundai family, or if you were a long-time, repeat customer, you might find the dealership will listen sympathetically in order to keep your business into the future. But don’t go to the bank on it.

The Kia’s seven-year factory warranty is – and should be – a big selling point. But that’s countered by much more expensive servicing over the Hyundai. Keen driveaway pricing also works in the Kia’s favour, however. Frankly, both are great cars with lots of useable performance (they share the same engine, actually) and practical layouts.

So, it could come down to a philosophical debate: The i30 N Line sits one rung below the hero i30 version, the N. The GT, meanwhile, is the flagship Cerato, so you don’t need to explain to the neighbours why you didn’t buy the flashest one. But for a lot of buyers, a manual transmission is the gearbox of choice in quick little hatches like these, and only the Hyundai offers a six-speed manual or a seven-speed DCT. In the Kia, it’s the DCT or nothing.

This needs to be fixed fast, Toni, as a car’s exhaust fumes are a deadly cocktail of gasses. Enough exposure to them can make you pass out (an obvious problem when you’re driving) or worse. Diesel engines are generally a bit smellier than a petrol engine, but no exhaust fumes should ever enter the car.

You’re either getting fumes drawn into the car via a faulty seal that is allowing exhaust fumes in, or the smell you’re experiencing is fumes in the engine-bay coming through the firewall. You need to inspect all the rubber seals around the doors and hatchback and search underneath the car and in the engine bay for a split or missing rubber bung or grommet that is letting the outside in.

The other question I have is whether the smell is the result of exhaust fumes or, in fact, the smell of unburnt diesel fuel. Diesel cars often acquire a diesel-fuel smell over time and the cause is hard to avoid. Because diesel doesn’t evaporate, the ground around the diesel pump at a service station is usually one big oily, diesel slick. When you fill your car, you unavoidably stand in this slick which is then transferred to the car’s carpet when you get back in. It’s not as crazy as it sounds, and it may be the clue you’re missing to explain the smell.

This sounds awfully like a sensor problem of some sort. Electronic sensors really do control every aspect of a modern car, from the engine to the dashboard and everything in between. So, it’s conceivable that your problem is the fault of a single sensor that is throwing multiple things out of kilter and causing the problems.

But why the engine and dashboard at the same time? Because a car’s computer will often take its cues from a variety of sources. Without a properly functioning dashboard (and the information on road-speed the speedometer supplies to the computer) some engines won’t even run at all. The rough running and hard starting could be another symptom of this.

But don’t rule out something simple like a battery or charging system that is not pulling its weight. Low battery voltage can do strange and random things to a modern, electronically-controlled car.

That’s definitely higher consumption than I would have expected. Are you driving exclusively in stop-start traffic? If so, that would help explain your consumption, but even then, I’d expect it to be closer to nine or 10 litres per 100km, not 13.

On that basis, I’d be giving the engine a once over in terms of how its fuel-injectors are working and checking things like fuel filters and pump pressure. A car that is not allowing its engine to warm up properly can also use more fuel than it should, because the computer, sensing that the engine is cooler than it should be, richens the fuel-air mixture to compensate. The cause of that can be something as simple as a dud thermostat or a cooling fan that is not switching off when it should.

But the other potential piece of the puzzle could be related to your driving style. You claim that the engine never goes beyond 2500rpm, which could mean you are `lugging’ the engine; making it work too hard at too low a speed. Modern four-cylinder engines don’t mind a rev and, in fact, need to be revving beyond a certain speed to be in their happy, most fuel-efficient, zone.